Thursday, April 22, 2010

Grooming Sessions - First Dunes Ride of 2010

Every critter we have is shedding (except the chickens). If I could ball all the hair up together, it would probably be the size of a small planet.

We have spent more time currying, brushing and combing lately. The last two Friday nights we even made it our evening entertainment. We go out to the barn with some beers, rakija and Serbian music and give everybody a thorough grooming. Then we spoil them with carrots and Vanilla Wafers (our goats are crazy about Vanilla Wafers).

You can see all the horse hair in the curry comb here. I use the shaving brush on Divna's eye socket. It gets pretty dusty in there, so I brush it out for her as part of the grooming ritual.

Zora is so sweet (that is, until you try to ride her -- then she turns into a crazy rocket!). When John grooms her, she can't wait for the chance to rest her big head on his shoulder. I think she is in love with him.

We went for our first ride in the Indiana Dunes last weekend. It is closed to horses during the Winter so the cross country skiiers can use it. It was a pretty day -- a bit chilly, but that was OK. The trails looked so different than they did the in the Fall, when we were there last. Also, last Spring the trails were underwater the first time we went back for the season. Not this time -- there was some water, but it was not flooded. But the Dunes are coming to life right now, and it was really pretty. We are so fortunate to have this great riding place so close to home.

Along the trail there are little bridges because there are creeks and wet spots in the Dunes. At one bridge, there was a huge mud pit on the trail at the end of the bridge. Zora and John were in the lead, and Zora was having no part of going thru that mud. We were not going to turn around and go back (the trails are supposed to be ridden one-way only), and besides, the bridge is so narrow that I don't believe turning around is even possible.

So there we stood. John coaxed, kicked, smacked her rump -- every thing he could think of. No way was she going thru that mud. She is such a goofball, and comes up with some of the craziest stuff sometimes. At one point she actually started to kneel down! I think she was just overwhelmed over the prospect of walking through that mud, and didn't know what else to do!

After what seemed like 10 minutes, John finally had to get off and pull her across.

Divna went thru it like a champ!! I loved it......It's not often I can "one-up" him on the trail. It was finally my turn!

About Me

John has been substitute teaching, and is studying for obtaining his teaching certification. Regina is the in-house accounts/HR manager for a machine shop. In addition to our horses, we have two cats, and five chickens. John is a first-generation American, with his parents arriving after WWII. Regina has a relative who fought in the Revolutionary War.